BAT or Pass With My Sophia 2s?

I think your Ayon Triton would be the best match. Have you gotten rid of it already? Wilsons really sound great with tubes. I think your move to BAT or Pass would be lateral at best.

I really enjoyed the BAT 75SE on them for a long time. I've owned a Pass amp (X250.5), but not when I had my Sophia1s. I think it would work fine, but I would prefer BAT sound with Wilson---a shade dark really works well with Wilson imo.

KeithR

Pass on the Bat ............. LOL... !

I am using the X350 with WP8 (in secondary system) and am quite happy with it. Infact, the Pass does make for a mellow combination - while retaining the bass performance. Only experience with BAT was a pre-amp about 3-4 years ago (VK30?) and I was very UNHAPPY with the tubby sound - kind of flabby and lifeless. Since then, I have never looked at a BAT piece but my experience may have been an extreme outlier.

Keith - the Ayon is a keeper, and I was planning on using it in an upstairs listening room. The reason for considering solid state is that the equipment behind the Sophias will be going in a closet, and I'm concerned about the heat from a tube based amp. I know the big BAT amp (VK600-SE) runs hot, but not nearly as hot as my Triton.

Thanks for the comments so far - anyone else?

I have both: a pair of Pass XA 100.5 monoblocks and a VK-600SE.

My speakers are Wilson Sophia 2. Preamp varies between SS and tubes (I'm still searching...)

Both are great amps. The differences to my ears:

Pass:
- Better midrange
- Thicker, more tube-like bass
- Warmer presentation overall, not much in the way of 'air', but highs are very smooth

Bat
- Bass is much tighter, less overhang
- Midrange and highs not as smooth as Pass
- Leaner presentation with much more air

At the moment I prefer the Bat, but both amps are great.